Article Sidebar

Share this Story: Pandas skip and nursing student Selena Sturmay 'can see it both ways' with tournament closures

Trending

Article content

By day, Selena Sturmay is a University of Alberta nursing student, and by night, she’s the skip of the Pandas curling team fresh off a national curling championship last weekend.

So, as a student-athlete focused on the field of health care, the 21-year-old native of Leduc was feeling a little conflicted amid the closure of not only all the other U-Sports championships taking place at the same time, but almost every other sports and entertainment event around, due to COVID-19.

Pandas skip and nursing student Selena Sturmay 'can see it both ways' with tournament closuresBack to video

“Our competition started one day before all of these things started to be cancelled, so we were kind of expecting it to be pulled on us, as well,” she said. “But Curling Canada was obviously in close contact with some of the health organizers and they did a lot of things to make sure that competition still ran. They took a lot of measures to disinfect things and really keep us athletes and fans safe.

“So it was definitely something that I won’t forget for a long time.”

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

That goes for both the gold medal and all the circumstances surrounding it.

“Yeah, I don’t think it’s actually quite set in yet, it’s kind of just been crazy taking it day by day with all of these new things coming up in regards to, obviously, the coronavirus and classes being cancelled,” Sturmay said. “So that was definitely one of the distractions that we had to persevere through. “But, yeah, all in all, I don’t think it’s really set in that we won yet.”

The Pandas flew back to Edmonton from Portage la Prairie, Man., on Monday, March 16, to arrive in a vastly different landscape than the one they left a week earlier.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

Their return flight, of course, had previously been booked for an early morning departure so as not to miss class.

“Yeah, that was the original plan was to kind of be here in the morning for our classes, but I guess that is no longer an issue,” said Sturmay, who had been on the fence about the measures being taken at the time. “I might be a little bit biased, I am actually in the medical field myself, just finishing up my nursing degree. I can see it both ways, it’s a Catch 22, but I think always taking extra prevention measures to stop the outbreak before it gets out of control is definitely something smart.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

“Especially if everybody got sick, I don’t know how that would go over with our healthcare system, which would be overwhelmed. It is already. (The measures) might be a little bit excessive, but they’re keeping Albertans safe and I think that’s the best and only thing you can ask for.”

As wild a ride as it’s been across the finish line, the win closes out the last chapter in Sturmay’s well-decorated university curling career.

“For me, I’m in my last year of school so as far as U-Sports go and the Universiade, this was my last crack at it. Luckily we did end up winning,” Sturmay. “The majority of my team, though, does have more years of eligibility, so I’m sure we’ll see them up and coming in that area for a while.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

“My team and I have quite a bit of history together, we actually were able to win the junior nationals a year ago, so we represented Canada on the junior stage at worlds, where we got a silver medal.”

They’ll have a chance to come back and pursue the podium one more time, with this national championship also earning them the right to represent the country at the 2021 Winter Universiade Games in Lucerne, Switzerland, at the end of January.

“I’m definitely looking forward to putting that Maple Leaf on my back one more time, compete hard and hopefully bring a medal back for Canada,” said Sturmay, who also attended the last Universiade Games, held every two years, after winning U-Sports nationals in 2018. “I was lucky enough to go playing in the second position for the 2019 Universiade Games.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

“Just a wonderful opportunity to play one more time with these girls, get another crack at the Maple Leaf and get to travel internationally.

“Hopefully everything dies down by then and that’s not an issue.”

Until it’s not, Sturmay is forced to take a wait-and-see approach.

“I got an email (while returning from Manitoba) that the Saville Centre was taking out their ice,” said Sturmay, who was scheduled to compete in a provincial mixed doubles event at the end of March. “So pretty much everything is shut down for the season until late summer.”

Share this Story: Pandas skip and nursing student Selena Sturmay 'can see it both ways' with tournament closures

Trending

Related Stories

This Week in Flyers

Article Comments

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Notice for the Postmedia Network

This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.